Arkansasnative's 1432 mod

[arkansasnative]

Hey! i found this forum this past winter after i found a 14 foot flatbottom (1967 model...unknown make. help me out if you can!) with trailer and trolling motor for 200 bucks. originally i thought it was a 1436 which is what i was looking for but it ended up being a 1432 but for the price i couldnt let it go. normally its just me crappie fishing so i wont need a tall deck so i was satisfied with it. after i found that i came across an older 10hp motor at my grandpa's house that he said i could have if i could get it running. anyway onto the pics and progress ive made... enjoy!

... could this transom hold 10hp? im tryin to find a way to brace it if i need to

... as you can see the braces dont go up the interior walls so the seats have to stay unfortunately

... and now for a couple of bad spots i have to fix

 

[RBuffordTJ]

What a beautiful canvas to work with!

Don't let the lack of bracing on your sides stop you from modifying the benches. Look in my signature at the bottom of this post for my mod, see what I did to mine to remove one and make a walkthrough that keeps structural integrity. Also if your narrow at the bottom (32") just build low decking and foam under them for safety and to dull the noise from the boat.

As for a motor, I don't 'see why it couldn't handle a 10hp, mine holds up to a 15hp and it is a 12' x 36"

Can't wait to see what you do with this. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Bufford in Orlando

 

[Nevillizer]

:WELCOME: aboard. My first mod was an Alumacraft 1432 turned out pretty good. Good Luck.

 

[arkansasnative]

the plans are to put in a low floor, support the transom, make some storage, fix the bad spots (doesnt leak right now... id just rather not risk it), fix the rust on the trailer, and paint.
over the winter i was able to disassemble the trailer and use a grinder to clean up all the rust and smooth out the metal. i brushed on some oil based primer i got at tractor supply and hasnt been touched since due to bad weather and cold temps. this week i was able to pull the trailer frame back out and start painting. i used tractor and implement paint i got at tractor supply for most of it. the places i wasnt able to get to with a brush i used rustoleum spray bombs. i used to use the tractor paint on ice boxes when i worked at an ice factory and love how durable it is... id say its the next best thing to powdercoating!

 

[Troutman3000]

looks good so far man.

 

[arkansasnative]

What a beautiful canvas to work with!

Don't let the lack of bracing on your sides stop you from modifying the benches. Look in my signature at the bottom of this post for my mod, see what I did to mine to remove one and make a walkthrough that keeps structural integrity. Also if your narrow at the bottom (32") just build low decking and foam under them for safety and to dull the noise from the boat.

As for a motor, I don't 'see why it couldn't handle a 10hp, mine holds up to a 15hp and it is a 12' x 36"

Can't wait to see what you do with this. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Bufford in Orlando

yea i saw ur thread a while back... i thought about doing the same but i think i might keep it and cut the top out for storage. i still havent fully decided yet so thats why i started with the trailer.

 

[RBuffordTJ]

I hear ya man, take your time and set it up the way you want the first go around. The trailer looks good so far.

Bufford

 

[arkansasnative]

the weather has been pretty rainy and cold for the past few days so i havent been able to get much done except for removing most of the 40 year old grease on the axle... that was rough! im wantin to work on the boat still so i was gonna ask a few questions on here... mainly about floor layout and seats. here's 4 floor options... keep in mind that the boat is only 32 inches wide so port to starboard balance is essential. all have low decks in front, center bench cut, rechargeable 12v batteries in the sides of the cutout bench and the hatches serve the same purpose in all the options. all but option 4 might end up having a storage hatch in the front of the rear bench.

option 1: pretty basic... id probably add carpeted wood up the sides

option 2: storage on the left, velcro rod holders on the top of the box (smaller blue boxes on the left top of seats), and the accessory panel (swiches, battery meter, and possibly radio) have been moved to a small box on the back bench, removable cooler/livewell would offset the wood bench on the opposite side

option 3: carpeted plywood sides with accessory boxes (radio on left, accessories on right) flush with rear deck... speakers in the bottom of the accessory boxes

option 4: offset rear seat (dont know how bad it will affect stability), storage hatch in top instead of front of rear deck, accessory panel back on front of rear deck (attached at bottom)

my next question is which seats do yall find more comfortable? im on a budget but ive narrowed it down to two models... i cant decide and dont want to buy seats that will start hurtin after an hour or two of fishing!

https://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10205157_225008001_225000000_225008000_225-8-1

or...

https://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_37967_225008001_225000000_225008000_225-8-1

all opinions and criticism welcome and appreciated!

 

[dyeguy1212]

But the nicer ones.. well worth it in the long run, and makes the boat look a lot nicer IMO

 

[cavman138]

I went with tempress seats. Expensive, but really comfortable. They are the seats that come on the tracker pro 16 as well.

 

[Waterwings]

The Tracker PT175 I used to own had the Tempress seats, and they were a lot more comfortable than the Wise seats that came with my current boat.

 

[arkansasnative]

any opinions on the floor and deck layout? anyone?

 

[Henry Hefner]

any opinions on the floor and deck layout? anyone?

I would probably go with choice #1 just to keep the weight down.

 

[arkansasnative]

been a lil while since an update due to my search for a motor... i tried using mapp gas and the aluminum brazing rods the first time i did it the crack sealed up watertight but it looked sloppy. i ended up stripping it all off and trying again but i could never get it sealed back up properly. i wound up stripping it back down AGAIN and pounded it pretty smooth with a rubber mallet then jb weld'ed it and smoothed it down. ended up looking pretty decent and is watertight and ill be coating the inside with 5200.

the trailer is pretty much finished except for the fenders and bolting the bunks on. now i gotta finish up the inside of the boat! off to get some plywood!

on to the pics!

looks that this boat had some "friends" at one point in time!

 

[Erock]

hello fellow Arkansas native. good luck on the boat.

looks like a mouse found a good home in that foam same thing happened to me.

 

[arkansasnative]

yea it was kinda crazy... you could see his exact route as he made his way thru the foam making little rooms as he went lol.

not many arkansans on here... especially NEA. good to see someone close by!

 

[Erock]

so what are the plans for the inside of the boat 32inch wide may be a little narrow to put a deck in might end up spending all ur time fighting to stay balanced. or u can put a floor in it with plywood or i seen someone just lay down rubber matting at the bottom and it looked really good

 

[arkansasnative]

my plan is to put a floor in the back half and i cut the middle seat out so i could put a low deck (4 or 5 inched off the bottom of the boat) and pedestal seat up front with a little storage. in the end the front seat wont be much higher than normal... the back will be decked behind the rear seat to cover the gas tank and have a little storage. i dont plan to stand on any of the decks, just need em to get my stuff out of the elements. everything will be gray carpet from home depot.

i noticed today that i might need to change my plan for the aluminum inside walls... i bought 3 cans of silver matte finish spray bombs but they are nowhere near matted enough and blinded me every time i caught my test area in my line of sight.

 

[arkansasnative]

well guys, it's been a while since i updated this whole thing... work got pretty busy for a month or two so i never really took pics when i did have the time to work on it. Anyway i figured i'd get caught up today... its not turning out to be the prettiest or best boat but its about as good as its gonna get given the starting platform! Still have to Finish the two hatches on the sides of the middle seat, add the back seat, trolling motor mount, redo the transom, all the wiring, add fenders, and a little more carpet work. I'm also designing floatation pods that should compensate for a little over 100 pounds! ON TO THE PICS!!!

All the hatches open (except for the left upper side of the middle seat which isn't cut out yet)

Got these little dudes in the mail the other day to run fish finder, lights, 12v acc.

And they go here...

Trolling motor mount... still have some bracing and carpet to add

New minijacker and a dirty motor with new water pump assembly!

A little over hang but i had to do it to get the motor up... transom will be re-braced to make up for it.

Dirty motor... im considering repainting it but i wanna get the boat done first!

New 12" wheels and tires i got for $80 bucks/pair at good ol' Harbor Freight! Still need a little air... just mounted them.

My indoor project... pod design!

... THAT'S ALL FOLKS! i was hoping i could put plywood up the sides of the rear but im gonna see how it sits in the water after the pods... i have some extra trailer light wire but it looks kinda thin to use for my fish finder or 12v acc... i might just use it for some lights i guess.

 

[Pruitt1222]

Looks great Arkansasnative, Very user friendly. I like how your front deck turned out.